French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's statement that European aircraft manufacturer Airbus planned to cut 10,000 jobs are sheer speculation, a German spokesman said Tuesday.

"No concrete final decisions have yet been taken," deputy government spokesman Thomas StegThomas Steg told reporters.

"The German government will not participate in this and will not comment," he said, adding that important decisions have yet to be made by Airbus management.

German Economics Minister Michael Glos has repeatedly warned that German defense orders for Airbus parent company EADS could be canceled if the country's Airbus workers are disproportionately affected.

Earlier Tuesday, Villepin told the French RTL radio that Airbus has decided to slash 10,000 jobs as the company is trying to save 2 billion euros (2.6 billion U.S. dollars) per year beginning in 2010 to make up for huge losses caused by delivery delays in the company's A380 superjumbo aircraft.

French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are to meet Friday in Germany to discuss the job cuts and try to "find an acceptable solution for both sides," according to Villepin.

Source: Xinhua